


The Winner Takes It All

by the_technicolor_whiscash



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: Bad dates, Confessions of love, Cuddling, F/M, Pining, this went all over the place
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-25
Updated: 2018-09-25
Packaged: 2019-07-17 09:20:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16092686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_technicolor_whiscash/pseuds/the_technicolor_whiscash
Summary: Out of the blue, Lisbon calls Jane at an awful hour in the morning asking for him to pick her up. Jane naturally obliges, because there is one large secret he is keeping from everyone in his life: he is in love with Lisbon.





	The Winner Takes It All

**Author's Note:**

> my 100th fic, and it had to be a mentalist one. the mentalist was really what got me into fic writing in the first place, and though I don't often write for it now, i still love the show, the characters, and all of the inspiration it's given me to write.

“Jane?”

“Lisbon, what’s up?”

She took a shaky breath. “I have to ask you for a favor, and you have to promise not to ask any questions or make fun of me for it.”

Jane grew concerned. That meant that something had happened, something that Lisbon wasn’t proud of and didn’t want to talk about. It could have something to do with hiding a body, but that was unlikely. This was probably more personal. And at this hour, some very dark situations popped into his head. “What’s wrong?”

“My date… it didn’t go well. I need you to pick me up.”

“Where?”

“Saint James Park. I’m by the statue of a guy on a horse.” Her voice grew quiet. “Please hurry.”

“I’m on my way.”

Jane quickly jumped into his car and sped off towards the direction of the park. How she had ended up in a park, he had no idea. It wouldn’t be Mashburn’s idea for a date, so she must’ve ended up there after. Though being a woman alone in a park at night is never a good idea, so Lisbon must’ve had a very good reason for going there. 

He parked in the empty lot for the park and followed the map until he found the statue of a man on horseback. He found Lisbon sitting on a bench across from it. 

“Lisbon. Are you alright?” 

She stood, expressionless. “I’m fine. Let’s just go.”

As much as Jane wanted to ask questions, he didn’t, in keeping with her request. Instead, he stayed silent in their walk to the car, and for most of the ride back to her house. 

Lisbon, however, was the first to break the silence. “Not gonna ask what happened?”

“You said not to ask questions, and I respect your privacy. You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.”

“Good.” She clearly wanted to tell him more, but not all of it. “Walter’s a dick.”

“I had figured that part out, yes.”

“He was only in it for the sex.”

Jane nodded. 

“And I thought I would be ok with that. But I wasn’t.”

“So I take it that’s how you ended up in a park at midnight?” He paused. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

“No, that’s alright. It’s kind of a long story. I won’t chew your ear off about it.”

“If you want to talk, I’m willing to listen.”

She sighed. “Alright. Well, Walter and I had dinner together. That was fine, the food was good because he took me to some absurdly expensive place only rich people go to. Then we went back to his place, and we started… you know.”

Jane realized he didn’t want to think about Lisbon and Walter doing what they were doing. He felt a spark of jealousy erupt within him, before pushing it away. “Yeah.”

“Anyway, while we were doing that, I realized that that wasn’t what I’m looking for in a relationship. I don’t want some one-night stand.”

“You need something with long-term emotional attachment.” Jane said it less and a question and more as a statement. He knew her pretty well by now. And he had guessed early on that this thing with Mashburn wouldn’t work. Lisbon wasn’t just some toy to be played with, some expensive car you sell when you get tired of. 

“Basically. So I just grabbed my clothes and I left. Unfortunately, he was the one who drove us there.”

“And that’s why you called me.”

“Yeah. Sorry it’s at such a weird hour. I wasn’t thinking.”

“It’s fine. I was awake anyway.”

“That’s right, I forget that you never sleep.”

Jane smiled. “I sleep sometimes. Naps on and off. Just not in a conventional sleep schedule.”

“No kidding.” Lisbon shifted, staring out the passenger window. “Thanks.”

“Sure. You’re my boss, I have to make sure you don’t get into too much trouble.”

“You’re your own boss, and you know that. I’m just here to intervene and keep you from getting punched in the face.” 

“Yes, but you get a gun and a badge. I just get a little name tag that says ‘consultant’ on it.”

He couldn’t see her face, but he knew she had rolled her eyes. “I should’ve called Cho.”

“But you knew Cho has his own life. Me, I don’t do anything. I’m there whenever you need me, to drive you home or hide a body.”

“You really think I would call you to help me hide a body?”

“I think you deny that you would. Though I doubt you would commit a murder in the first place.”

“I wouldn’t call you because you’d be the one I killed.” She paused, realizing what she had just said. “I’m sorry, that was a low jab.”

He was a little hurt, but he wasn’t going to say so. “It’s fine. Emotions are running high. I’m a bit of a jerk sometimes. I get it.”

“You’re not a jerk. You can be an asshole, but not a jerk.”

“There’s a difference?” 

“Asshole is a term of endearment. Jerk is much more serious.”

“Oh, of course.” 

Jane barely noticed when he pulled into Lisbon’s driveway. He was enjoying this conversation, even if it started out in a bad situation. Lisbon was, by far, his favorite person to talk to. She understood him in a way no one else did. Well, except maybe Cho. But Cho wasn’t always a good conversationalist. 

“Looks like we’re here.” He said. 

Lisbon looked from her house to Jane. “You wanna come in for a cup of coffee or tea or something? I’ve got some bourbon if we really wanna make it pitiful.”

“I probably shouldn’t.”

“I’ve got some of that weird oolong tea you like.”

Jane couldn’t help but smile. She even knew his favorite tea. “Alright. But just for a little bit.”

A few moments later, Jane was sitting at Lisbon’s kitchen island, warm cup of tea in his hands. Lisbon had decided on a bottle of coke, which was decidedly less pitiful than the bourbon. “Jane, is there something going on?”

Jane swallowed the lump in his throat. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you would normally have jumped at the chance to come in for tea. You never show hesitation with that kind of thing. So that means something has to be on your mind.”

He quickly came up with something that had been on his mind. It wasn’t his reason for hesitating, but it was still weighing on him. “I’ve just been thinking a lot about Red John, and why so many copycats have decided to emulate him, of all people.” 

“Well, he is the most famous serial killer of modern times. He’s like our BTK killer.”

“But the BTK killer only got caught because he wanted to get caught. Red John, he gets a rise out of not being caught. He wants to be memorialized like the Zodiac killer. No one really knows how many he killed, nor who he was.” Jane tightened his grip on his mug. “I’ll catch that bastard if it’s the last thing I do. Which it might be. Who knows how it’ll end.”

“You better not plan on dying. I won’t have anyone there to torment me, or pick me up when I have a bad date.” She smiled. “Or punch in the nose.”

“To be fair, you’ve only done that once.”

“Once as of yet. Neither of us can predict the future, as you so often say.”

“Ah, but I can make an educated guess. Give me your hand.”

Lisbon gave him a skeptical look, but obliged.

Jane closed his eyes, enclosing his hands around Lisbon’s. He hadn’t realized until now just how much his heart had been racing, but hers somehow managed to outpace his. He could feel Lisbon’s pulse in her fingertips, the way her muscles tightened when he ran his thumb over the back of her palm. She was nervous. Tense. Trying to quickly erect barriers around her emotions before Jane could read them. Without thinking, he whispered breathlessly, “You’re in love with me.”

Lisbon tore her hand away. She stood, refusing to look at Jane. “You don’t know that.”

“Lisbon,” he muttered, putting a hand on her shoulder, which she immediately shook off, “it’s not something to be ashamed of.”

“How can you say that, when you just picked me up from a date with another man?”

“Because I know you, Teresa. And I know my own feelings. I know we’ve both been denying it, but it’ll cause tension if we don’t talk about this.”

Lisbon took a deep breath. “I think you should go.”

“You’re sure?”

“Just go, Jane.” The constitution in her voice wavered slightly. “Leave me alone.”

“Alright. If that’s what you want.” Jane gave one last look at her before he left. He knew she would probably watch him leave. Probably think about the feeling clutching up her stomach. Or at least he knew that was what was happening to him. 

Jane spent the next half hour or so wandering around in the darkness. He parked his car outside the office and just started to walk, all around the center of town. He tried everything to clear his head, but nothing could work. He was just too distracted with thoughts of her. There were too many things he could be saying that he wasn’t, or things he should have said that he didn’t. Eventually, he sat down on a bench, burying his face in his hands.

That’s when he got a call. He didn’t even need to look at the caller I.D. to know who it was. “Lisbon, I-”

“Jane, just shut up and listen for once in your life.” Lisbon’s voice betrayed that she had been crying. “I don’t want to be alone right now. But I don’t want you to bring up what we talked about before I kicked you out. Just come over here, and leave your smugness in your car.”

“I’m on my way.”

And he had been. His subconscious had led him in the general direction of Lisbon’s house, and it was less than a mile for him to get there. Lisbon was at the door when he arrived. 

“Jane. I don’t want to talk about things we’ve gone through. But this date’s upset me more than I thought it would, and you’re the only person I can turn to.” She crossed her arms in a defensive posture. Still nervous, even though this time, she had a plan. 

“I want to apologize. I brought something up that I thought you would be ready to talk about, but you’re not, and I respect that. I’m sorry.”

Lisbon nodded. “Good. Thank you.”

“But why am I back here? You wanted me as far away from you as possible earlier.”

“Swear to me that you won’t tell anyone what I’m going to say.”

“You know I won’t.”

“I know.” She sighed. “I’m lonely. Really, really lonely. And like I said before, I thought I would be alright with a one-night stand, but I’m not.” She changed her posture, this time sliding her hands into her pockets. “I just want someone to cuddle with me. No sex, no kissing. Just cuddling.”

Jane smiled softly. “Lisbon, you could have just asked. Of course I’ll cuddle with you.”

Wordlessly, Lisbon took him by the hand and led him into her dimly lit bedroom. She climbed in first and, after slipping his shoes off, he crawled in after her. He wanted her to set the boundaries, which she did, burying her head into his chest, gripping his shirt. Hesitantly, he put his arms around her, and when she didn’t reject the motion, he relaxed. 

It felt weird, to be so intimate with someone after so long of a gap since the last time he did so. But with Lisbon, it felt good. It felt right, somehow, to have her in his arms. He just wished it were under better circumstances. 

Jane was beginning to fall asleep when he heard Lisbon speak. “Patrick.”

Jane’s pulse began speeding again. “What is it?”

“I do love you. I’m just scared about this whole thing.”

“So am I. I’m terrified that Red John will see how much you mean to me, and decide to do to you what he did to my wife. I’m terrified that my focus on work won’t let me treat you the way you should be treated.” He ran his fingers through her hair. “And I’m terrified at my feelings for you. I haven’t loved anyone like I love you, Teresa. At least, not in a long time.”

“Damn you and your monologues stealing my spotlight. How am I supposed to live up to that?”

“Just speak from the heart.”

“All I know is that I love you, and I don’t want to mess this up. I’ve never had a serious relationship end up anywhere. I don’t want to ruin our friendship, either.”

“Teresa, I’d marry you right now if city hall were open at 3 am. We’ve already known each other for years. If I know anything about us, we’ll find a way to make it work.”

She tightened her grip on his shirt. “I wish I had your confidence.”

“On the contrary, I wish I had yours. It took all of this nonsense for me to actually tell you that I love you, when I could have done it at a normal time, like a normal person.”

“You’re right. There were a lot easier ways you could have done this, and you’re not normal. But if you were normal, I don’t think I would love you nearly as much.”

**Author's Note:**

> can you tell i was listening to abba when i was writing this


End file.
